


Somebody Else

by A_P_Holiday



Category: Original Work
Genre: Blood and Gore, Character Death, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fantasy, Lovecraftian, Modern Era, Multi, Other, Religion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:09:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22429912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_P_Holiday/pseuds/A_P_Holiday
Summary: In our beautifully modern world the average man or woman holds within them a perfectly reasonable image of what the world should be. We have moved past our unfounded beliefs in magic and monsters, of gods and demons which dictated the passions of entire peoples and nations in ages past. Because we have moved beyond such beliefs, we assume that these fallen fables were just that, works of fiction, stories meant to teach or amuse... we were wrong. Every story is based on some truth. Every story told actually happened in one way or another. And while we in our beautifully modern world may no longer have a place for cautionary tales about flying too close to the sun, the stories were originally told for a reason, and they do not like to be forgotten.So join us as we explore those who have been left behind, the fantastical, the unnatural, all left behind in our modern world which no longer has any place left for them. Follow along with our unlikely hero as he is thrust into a new world hidden only just beneath the surface of his own, and struggle along with him as you try to decide for yourself who is right, who is wrong, and who(if anyone) is to be trusted there.





	Somebody Else

If it hadn’t been so overcast that night, perhaps someone would have seen the silhouette as it passed once before the waxing moon. Perhaps if the populous hadn’t long since begun ignoring the pigeons, someone would have realized that the wilting grey feather settling slowly to the ground was far too big to belong to any local bird. And perhaps if humanity had not long since forgotten why it had once feared the dark, they might have had reason to question why on a night as windy as this, the smoke rising from the city seemed to hardly move at all. But none of these things were the case, and so no one noticed, no one saw.  


All which was visible to those few who spared a glance to the sky was the dull grey veneer of clouds which seemed to choke the horizon, the bright lights of the city below reflecting off of them like a ceiling hanging precariously above their heads; the lights of eight million lives casting the world outside in paler hues. Yet even in this false twilight when the night stood on the cusp of day, the city which never sleeps stubbornly continued to adhere to its moniker; even as the mercury crept lower and lower in its small glass vial, the living arteries of the great metropolis were choked with cars, the seemingly endless crosshatch pattern of off-white and red lights stretching further than one could see. The pedestrians beside them, still out even at this late hour, hurried about their business, forms heavily obscured under layers upon layers of insulated clothing; scarves wrapped tightly around their mouths and noses, both to block out the chill of the fierce winds which seemed to tear through the city streets, as well as to keep at bay the acrid smell of exhaust which hung in the air so thick that is was almost visible at times.  


Even now, mere minutes before midnight, the streets were filled with life, seeming to move and undulate like the insides of some monolithic beast. Perhaps that was why it seemed out of place; while the city pulsed with traffic and movement, one street seemed to be standing still. The thin plume of smoke seemed almost pathetic as it slowly coiled up toward the similarly drab grey ceiling of clouds, the bright city lights simultaneously highlighting its gradual accent, and threatening to overwhelm it completely. The faint grey column looked insignificant from a distance, or it would have, were it not for the veritable river of red lights radiating away from it in the direction of the northern bank. All nocturnal commerce down one avenue seemed to have ground to a halt, trying to slowly creep around the edge of the smoldering red and silver mass which gave rise to the smoke, now hanging heavier over the sight of its birth. The small red sedan at its center sat mostly on the sidewalk, only partially visible from behind the much larger pickup now practically bisecting it. As traffic slowed to a crawl around it, many a passerby stopped to gawk and try to spot the point where the hood of one car stopped and the brick wall of the now attached building began.  


It was a beautiful sight, or at the very least it brought a smile to the sallow lips of the watching figure perched atop the roof of the building across from the burning wreck. Perhaps if the smoke hadn’t hung so unnaturally still in the air someone might have noticed them arrive. Perhaps if anyone else had managed to tear their gazes away from the partially crumpled lump of steel and rubber they would have seen the look of anticipation and almost child-like glee on its face as the bright light of the fire reflected off dead eyes. The nearest firehouse was a mere three blocks away, but in the time it took to traverse the choked streets the smoke rising from the crash had already begun to thin.  
No one seemed to want to look away as the rescue crews finally managed to pull in around the wreck, all stopping to gawk at the spectacle as the remaining embers of what had once been a pair of cars were finally put out and the broken forms of the drivers were pulled from their seats. One of the crumpled forms was rushed onto a gurney and hurried into one of the waiting ambulances, but as the rescue crews tended to the other, it became clear to any onlooker just from their posture that this one was well beyond helping. But as soon as the bodies had disappeared into the ambulances and the rescue vehicles began to disperse, attention began to fade, interest or sympathy quickly replaced with the familiar aggravation which accompanied the act of waiting for traffic to clear. No one seemed to watch or care as the ambulances sped away towards the hospital, no one except the lone figure on the roof, glassy eyes unblinking, smile still fixed.  


The side of its jaw which was still attached was pulled upward, almost as if the gross approximation of glee or anticipation. Its tendons strained as two large rotting wrings slowly pulled open from its back, the skin sallow, almost allowing its bones to poke through the almost membrane-like flesh. Just the act of moving seemed like it should be beyond the bounds of what it’s form could handle, a small shower of putrid feathers falling to the concrete rooftop with every motion as its bones snapped and shifted beneath the skin, forcing its massive wings open to their full length. Its tattered grey form seemed to crouch, visible sinew tightening before the creature leapt with surprising grace from the rooftop, gliding on wings which should not be able to support it as it circled the lead ambulance like a vulture from on high.  


Not a soul raised their gaze to the sky as the thing circled in a tighter and tighter spiral above the emergency vehicle. Even as it began to descend, its decrepit form swooping lower towards the earth, no one looked. It was almost as if some long-forgotten part of them knew that it was there, knew what they’d see if they turned to look, knew that they shouldn’t. No, all the drivers kept their eyes firmly locked on the rear bumper of the car they were tailgating, and those unfortunate enough to be out walking at this time pulled their scarves tighter, pretending that the sudden chill seeming to creep into their bones was just from the wind. And so even with the glaring lights of the city beating in and around it, the tattered horror managed to land atop the moving ambulance completely unobserved, its wings creaking as they folded to rest against what remained of its spine. If any of the paramedic staff on board felt the slight shift as someone, or something, settled atop the chassis of their vehicle, none of them paid it any mind. There were more important things to worry about in that moment after all.  


The thing moved in a horribly disjointed way, as if were willing limbs too broken to work to move anyway, forcing its body into a kneeling position upon the roof. Its neck seemed to crane, face lowering further towards the thin metal sheeting of the roof, before passing through it like it was little more than a silk veil, the material rippling and giving around it like water. It was loud inside. Loud was never fun. No, quiet was much better. But that was fine. It could deal with the noise for a little bit, after all, it almost had what it wanted.  


“-on’t care about the leg right now! We need to stop the bleeding; a transfusion isn’t going to do him any good if he’s already empty!” Inside things were hectic, the pair of EMTs scrambling over each other in their attempts to save the broken boy laying on the gurney. From looking at him, one might have perhaps thought that he could have once been attractive, but it was hard to tell. The soft black curls certainly did look nice as they framed his face, but his face probably shouldn’t be purple, swollen from trauma and drenched in his own blood.  


“I can’t do anything without an O.R.!” One of the EMTs shouted back at their partner, a few strands of honey blonde hair breaking free from her ponytail as she turned quickly to grab something from a cart. “The internal bleeding is causing a plural effusion, if we don’t clear it its going to put too much pressure on his lungs and they’re going to collapse!” The woman pulled the plastic cap from the large syringe, her voice panicking, but her hands as steady as if they had been cut from stone. The paramedics had already cut away the boy’s clothing, the scraps laying under him, exposing more purple flesh. A human body wasn’t supposed to look like that, bruised and twisted; dirty shards of white visible from where the limbs on its left side seemed to have too many joints. The syringe went in between two of his ribs, the immediate rise of the plunger accompanied by the steady flow of ruby as the paramedic tried in vein to relieve some of the pressure building up around his battered internal organs.  


“We can let the surgeons worry about that! If his lungs collapse, we can respirate him manually, but if he bleeds out before we get there then there’s nothing they can do!” The other EMT responded with an equal air of franticness to his voice as he hung another bag of -O on the metal rack hanging above the boy’s head, the sleeves of his uniform already dyed a matching hue.  


“And if we do nothing about the internal bleeding then all that blood is just going to empty back into his chest cavity!” It was just so much noise, and hardly anything interesting. What were these two getting so worked up about, it wasn’t like they’d actually be able to save him anyway, not with that much blood slicking the corrugated steel floor. The creature’s head seemed to slip further through the roof, its skeletal hands following suit, gripping the inside as it pulled its body through like a swimmer would pull themselves out of the water. Again, neither of the paramedics looked up as their visitor pulled itself into the cabin, now crouching on the ceiling as its neck craned at an unnatural angle to look down at the broken body of the boy.  


The harsh artificial light in the cabin reflected off the creature’s lifeless grey eyes, illuminating its own disjointed and broken form as it slowly started to right itself. Long sinuous limbs slowly moved from the roof, reaching all the way to the floor as its body reacclimated to conventional gravity. It stood between the two paramedics over the body, half attached jaw still stretching the grotesque facsimile of a smile over its vacuous maw. Neither of the frantic paramedics reacted to its entry, like they didn’t see it, didn’t want to see it. In their haste, it was all too easy to ignore the slight fog of breath issuing from their mouths each time they exhaled, even in the comparative warmth of the heated ambulance interior.  


“There, there… Not to worry now.” If either of the paramedics heard the voice, they didn’t show it, still shouting over one another as they tried desperately to save the poor boy laying between them. The creature raised one gnarled skeletal claw, caressing the boy’s bruised cheek with a surprising level of tenderness, almost like a parent comforting an ill child. “I know it hurts, but don’t worry, we’re going to make it all better.” The creature cooed softly as it leant over the body, the remains of its face hanging only inches above the boy’s. Its voice didn’t seem to fit the body it came from, feminine cadence gentle and soothing, even as it came from broken and demonic lips.  


“You just get some rest for now.” The aberration continued in its disconcertingly angelic voice, managing to snap its jaw back into place as it leaned in closer to him. Broken wings unfurled partially from its back, fluttering in excitement despite the small confines of the space as the creature hung over the boy, its now complete mouth smiling gleefully as it whispered softly into his ear. “You just rest… We’re going to have so much fun together when you wake up…”

**Author's Note:**

> Well thank you all for sitting through the introduction to my work, the first chapter of what will hopefully someday be a novel. So, whatcha think? Some say its a risk to set your opening without naming your characters, and I would agree, maybe it does make it too hard to draw your attention in if its only a face without a name; still, if I did catch your attention, stick around. The main character at least will have their name revealed in the next chapter, in which I promise they will do more in than just bleed out. 
> 
> But, as you all likely, or at least hopefully guessed from the summary and the chapter, "Somebody Else" is a modern day fantasy which will concern angels, demons, and monsters of every stripe, be they folk lore or religious mythology. The work is still relatively in progress, and while the next few chapters have been written, they are still in draft progress and will be just a bit longer before I can release them to you. So, if you want to see more, tell me. Any and all comments or criticisms are welcome, how else can I be expected to improve as a writer?


End file.
